Time with Daddy Gilmore
by WizMonCruWil
Summary: I include a lot of musical theatre references in my works, when appropriate. I wanted to write something that was an ode to that, and this sort of flew into my head. I wrote the dialogue first; I hope I'm getting better writing in that witty, fast-paced style Gilmore Girls is known for! The first three chapters take place when Rory is 11, so show continuity is off. 4th post-AYIL.
1. Chapter 1: Watching Her Sleep

**Chapter 1: Watching Her Sleep**

It was a beautiful winter's night in Stars Hollow, just before Christmas. At Number 37 Maple Street, a single light emanated from a room upstairs. Inside, Lorelai Gilmore prepared her 11-year-old daughter, Rory, for bed. The little girl clambered in between the comforters at her mother's coaxing. "Time for bed." Lorelai kissed Rory's forehead. "Good night, sweets. I love you."

"Mom?"

"Hmm?"

"Can you play my show tunes CD? Until I fall asleep?" Rory's doe eyes melted Lorelai's heart in an instant. How could she refuse her?

Lorelai went to the CD player in the corner of the room, and popped a silvery disc in. Soon, sweet music began to play:

 _"There is a castle on a cloud... I like to go there in my sleep. Aren't any floors for me to sweep. Not in my castle on a cloud."_

Les Miserables. This was one of the first songs Rory had ever learned; funnily enough, Lorelai had sometimes caught her singing it from time to time, during her menial chores she accomplished while they lived at the Independence Inn. In such a context, the song sung by a young Cosette seemed both tearfully beautiful and chillingly haunting. _"There is a lady all in white / Holds me and sings a lullaby. / She's nice to see and she's soft to touch. / She says 'Cosette, I love you very much.'"_ Lorelai always found herself whispering Rory's name in place of Cosette. Rory smiled, perhaps recalling these memories, as she nestled into the pillows. "Perfect," she sighed. Within a few instances, she was asleep.

Lorelai kept the CD playing for long after Rory dozed off. The young mother watched her daughter sleep, from the rocking chair in the corner. The rocking chair that had once been inside the old potting shed behind the Inn, the same rocking chair she had used to lull Rory to sleep when she was a baby.

Interestingly enough, the CD that now played was not an Original Broadway Cast recording, of Les Miz or even any other show. Whenever they passed by the music store in town, Rory would beg her mother to buy just one, but Lorelai could never afford it. It had always filled her with shame, especially in the pair's early years on their own, to see her daughter's disappointed face when they could not afford nice luxuries such as that. So, the Inn had surprised Rory on her most recent birthday - just two months ago - by burning a CD with all of her favorite musical theatre songs on it.

The song now changed. Beautiful piano chords and a lilting voice now came over the sound waves:

 _"No beauty could move me / No goodness improve me / No power on earth / If I can't love her... / No passion could reach me / No lesson could teach me / How I could love her and make her love me, too / If I can't love her, then who?... No pain could be deeper / No life could be cheaper / No point anymore / If I can't love her. / No spirit could win me / No hope left within me..."_

The Beauty and the Beast song was intensely moving, and listening to the lyrics - so raw in their poetic elegance - made Lorelai suddenly begin to silently weep. The little girl in the bed, her child, lay at peace, so innocent and unaware of the harsh world she had been brought into, the trauma and pain of her birth. But how could perfection incarnate possibly wreak destruction? Could such a thing be? For Lorelai, Rory was a piece of heaven sent down to Earth on the wings of angels; God only knew how she - a lowly teenage mom turned hotel maid - deserved to be blessed with such a gift. And yet, how could anyone else but her have received such a blessing? If Lorelai didn't have Rory... well, then, the words of the song were true, and damningly so. What could have moved Lorelai to love anything or anyone, other than someone so beautiful, pure, bright, and disarmingly sweet? Nothing. No one, other than the preciousness which lay before her. The gods themselves - Yahweh, Buddha, Mohammed, Vishnu, Krishna - were jealous that one so perfect dared to live beneath them.

The song shifted again - to another time and another place far from a Beast in a castle, and instead into a very real country once ravaged by war. And Lorelai felt herself hit right in the feels all over again:

 _"You who I cradled in my arms / You asking as little as you can /... I know I'd give my life for you. / You didn't ask me to be born. / Why should you learn of war or pain? / To make sure you're not hurt again... / I swear I'd give my life for you. / I've tasted love beyond all fear / And you should know it's love that brought you here. / And in one perfect night, when the stars burned like new, I knew what I must do. / I'll give you a million things I'll never own / I'll give you a world to conquer when you're grown. / You will be who you want to be / You can choose whatever heaven grants / As long as you can have your chance / I swear I'll give my life for you..."_

Who knew the words of a Vietnamese barmaid with a love child born from an American G.I. could speak so profoundly to... a hotel maid with a love child born from an American scion within a wealthy family? Once more, the lyrics spoke truth to power. Lorelai knew, if anything ever threatened Rory, she would jump in front of any gun, bear any burden, shield her daughter's body with her very own if she had to, in order to ensure Rory's safety; indeed, her very existence. Maybe Lorelai could not give Rory everything, but she would try to come damn close. Give her the life that she, Lorelai, had given up.

The song changed once more. Another Les Miserables song, opened with beautiful piano chords. The character Eponine sang:

 _"On my own, pretending he's beside me / All alone, I walk with him till morning. / Without him, I feel his arms around me. / And when I lose my way, I close my eyes... and he has found me... / And I know it's only in my mind, that I'm taking to myself, and not to him / And although I know that he is blind... / I love him, but when the night is over / He is gone. The river's just a river... / I love him, but every day I'm learning / All my life, I've only been pretending! / Without me, his world will go on turning... / I love him, but only on my own."_

Lorelai now thought not of Rory, but of herself, ten years younger. In an instant, she flashed back a decade, to the winter the destitute Gilmore girls had arrived in Stars Hollow. In those days, in the freezing potting shed behind the inn, Lorelai would put Rory in her cradle and play this song; back then, it had come in a tape cassette and accompanying player - some of the few belongings Lorelai had brought with her from Hartford. Listening to this song, and watching Rory sleep, Lorelai would find herself crying over and missing Christopher - the baby's father - and wondering why he wasn't there, with them and for them.

Just then, Lorelai's cell phone rang. She quickly answered. "Hello?"

"Oh, shit! You're whispering; I forgot you're three hours ahead. Rory's asleep, isn't she?"

Lorelai sat up a little straighter, putting on her best poker face at the sound of Christopher's voice. "Yes, Christopher, our daughter's asleep; I'm watching her right now."

"Oh, good. I just wanted to call and confirm our plans for my weekend with Rory."

"Yes. A weekend which starts tomorrow. Actually, it technically started today. So why...?"

"Is it just me, or is that music I hear in the background?" her baby's father interrupted. "And what is wrong with your voice? Have you been crying?"

"Oh, it's just Rory's CD she got for her birthday. Apparently, show tunes can really cue the waterworks!"

"Show tunes?" and Lorelai could hear a hint of amusement in Christopher's inflection. "As in Broadway show tunes? Is she really our daughter?"

"Last time I looked. Besides, my boobs are _not_ small enough for me not to have gone through childbirth at least once!"

"Pah!" Christopher blasted out a laugh. The sound made Lorelai jump, and she frantically shushed him as Rory mumbled something in her sleep before rolling over. "But really - _show_ music?"

Lorelai shrugged. "It's been a fixation for us lately."

"Us? Or just Rory?"

Lorelai ignored the question, allowing Christopher to plow on. "Do you think maybe you should sign her up for voice lessons? Wait - don't answer that! If you discover she can't carry a tune, Rory will be crushed!"

Lorelai chuckled. "Little perfectionist that she is. Even if she can't, she'll _make_ herself carry a tune, and no mistake!" Chris laughed with her. A pause, and then she asked. "So, you are cool for tomorrow, correct?"

"Yes, Lore, I promise..."

"Really? Because I've heard that before and ended up consoling a blubbering child, with her heart in a million pieces!"

Christopher groaned. "Lor, please let's not fight now! The conversation was going so well, too... Look, I know I've backed out before, but I can't do that now, even if I had to. I'm here."

Lorelai frowned. This was not the Christopher she was used to. "In Connecticut, you mean?"

"I'm crashed in a hotel in Hartford. I'll be by in the morning. Say, 10?"

"That's great! She'll be so excited! So you better the hell be there at 10 sharp, or your ass is grass!"

Christopher chuckled. Good old Lorelai. "I will. Give our princess a kiss for me."

"I will. Good night."


	2. Chapter 2: Every Other Weekend Sort Of

**Chapter 2: Every Other Weekend... Sort Of**

At a few minutes to 10:00 the next morning, Lorelai and Rory were standing in the town's square, under the gazebo. As the clock tower began to strike the hour, Lorelai spotted an unfamiliar car pulling up towards them. Had to be a rental; she knew every single car in this little town, even down to who drove it. Then, behind the tinted windows, she saw that handsome face, still not physically grown out of his teenage heartthrob swagger.

Christopher looked good - there was no other way to say it. His eyes were hidden behind a smooth pair of designer shades. The sight amused her.

Rory, meanwhile, was jumping up and down with excitement. She was soon flinging herself at her father, even before he had finished stepping out of the car. "Dad!"

"Hey, baby!" Christopher laughed, catching her and spinning her around before kissing her forehead. Lorelai sauntered up to them, slow in her approach.

She smirked. "Shades? In Connecticut? In winter? Boy, you ain't in sunny California anymore! Didn't you get the memo?"

Christopher chuckled. "I guess not." He turned to his daughter. "Ready to go, sweetpea?"

"Yeah! I was born ready!"

"Let's go, then!"

"Christopher." Lorelai's call, almost soft, made both father and daughter spin around. "You know the rules?" Before leaving Hartford, the young parents had managed to hash out a custody agreement, in lieu of getting married as their mothers and fathers had wanted. Lorelai had been generous in what Christopher was allowed in terms of contact, but she was no idiot. She had heard many a horror story on the news. Of kidnapping. Or worse.

Christopher nearly rolled his eyes. "Yes, I know the rules. I don't need you to recite the whole litany."

Lorelai put her hands up. "Just making sure!" She called to Rory. "Have a good time with your dad, sweets!"

"Bye, Mom!"

Lorelai stayed in the square until the SUV turned the corner.

* * *

As they headed off, Christopher handed Rory a package. "Brought you something, princess."

Rory opened it. "A Walkman?"

"It was mine, when I wasn't much older than you. I brought cash, too - you can buy tapes of all those show tunes you like."

Rory gasped, her eyes shining. "How did you know?"

"Oh, believe me, kid, I have my sources." And he winked.

"But it isn't even my birthday!"

"It's belated, I know. But just being my daughter is reason enough to celebrate, right?" He paused, and then ruffled her hair. "So: what's new? You liking school?"

"Yeah! But I'm kinda dreading junior high next year..."

"Hey, don't sweat it. Junior high's a joke - even for the kids who work hard! At least, it felt like a joke to me. All the crazy social scene and stuff that doesn't matter."

Rory frowned. "Social scene?"

"Oh, you know... the culture. What kids your age talk about. Stupid stuff. Favorite bands and who's hot and who's not..."

Rory bit her lip, hiding back a smile. "If Mom knew you were talking to me about hotness..."

"... she would be on my case, I know," Christopher finished for her. Both of them laughed, before lapsing into silence. At last, Rory spoke up.

"Dad? Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"You come to visit me... and Grandma and Grandpa come to visit me... so why don't Mum-Mum and Pop-Pop visit?"

Christopher took a long time in answering. "Well... your Pop-Pop's often busy with his law practice... and Mum-Mum... I mean, Rory, they would come and see you if they could..."

"You mean, _'if they wanted to_.'" Rory guessed. "I knew it." Her eyes filled with tears, and she began to cry. "They hate me! My grandparents hate me!"

The sudden change in mood was so paralyzing to Christopher, he damn near drove off the road. How was he supposed to defuse this? One minute, his daughter was her happy, bubbly self, and the next minute, she had worked herself into an emotional tailspin that she didn't deserve to feel and couldn't get out of.

"No. Never! They just..."

"They're ashamed of me!"

"That's not true, Rory!" and Christopher's voice grew more stern.

"Then answer me this: if they could choose between you finishing school and you having me, which would they choose? Which would _you_ choose?"

Perceptive. So perceptive, it was almost disturbing. A woman in a little girl's body. Rory was definitely Lorelai's offspring. She had asked an honest question, and one that deserved an honest answer. Gathering his thoughts, Christopher pulled over on the side of the highway and turned to face her.

"I would choose having you. Every. single. damn. time." He found himself getting choked up - an uncharacteristic move indeed. "Now, I can't speak for your grandparents... but that doesn't matter. Because all you need to know right now is that I love you. No matter _what_. And I'm sorry..." He composed himself in order to finish. "And I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like that was something... you had to earn."

Rory hugged him, and he hugged her back. "And just so you know, Rory... I have never, ever been ashamed of you. _Ever_. Or of being your dad. No regrets: for me, or your mom."

The time passed all too quickly. Pretty soon, the pair had to turn around and head for Stars Hollow. Beating Lorelai back to the square, Rory showed her father around her hometown. They stopped by the music store, where Christopher browsed the shelfs, before unexpectedly plucking one CD, paying for it, and handing it to Rory. She looked at it in surprise.

"Sunset Boulevard?"

"Yeah. Label says Glenn Close is in it or something. Add it to your collection."

Rory smiled. "Thank you."

Just then, Lorelai came into the store. "There you are!"

"Mom, Mom! Daddy got me a real Broadway CD! And a Walkman!"

Lorelai looked to Christopher, surprised and secretly touched. Christopher shrugged, flushing. "Music, right?" He hugged his daughter goodbye. "Let me know about your elementary school graduation, and I'll try to make it."

Lorelai frowned, picking up on _try_ as the key word in that sentence. But she refrained from saying anything.

"I love you, Daddy."

"Ditto that, princess." Christopher kissed her one last time, then waved to Lorelai. "Take care, Lor."

Lorelai nodded. "You too."


	3. Chapter 3: Rory Tries Performing

**Chapter 3: Rory Tries Performing**

Of course Christopher would not keep his word about Rory's graduation from elementary school. Lorelai had, sadly, not expected anything less. What really made her blood boil was seeing Rory's gradually more desensitized reaction upon learning that her father had once again failed to show for a milestone in her life.

Thankfully, the disappointment did not last long. One summer's day, Rory came home from her performing arts camp to announce that she had been cast as the lead in the Stars Hollow Summer Stock Production. Miss Patty from the ballet school was directing this year's production of _Cats_. Upon hearing this, Lorelai knew what she had to do.

Most times, she simply waited for Christopher to get off his ass and call. Birthdays and Christmases were mostly the standard fare for his phone conversations with his family, though in Lorelai's mind, it was a miracle they got even that. This time, however, she took the initiative in dialing his number.

"Lore?" He seemed pretty surprised to hear her voice, as she usually did not call.

"I need you to listen carefully: our only child has been cast as the lead in the town musical this summer. And you will be there on Opening Night, in the front row, even if I have to come out to San Fran and drag you back here!" She did not mean to escalate hostilities right out of the gates, but the graduation letdown had still been fresh in her mind.

Christopher sighed heavily. "Is this about Rory's graduation? I told you I was sorry."

"Yeah - indirectly, through your dad! Can you imagine how I felt seeing your parents show up unannounced in their tacky clothing, and a slap-dashed apology note from you? They looked like they just got off the plane from Hawaii or something; I was mortified!"

She could almost hear Christopher smirk over the phone. "Their clothes _are_ rather tacky."

"Christopher, pay attention! Because there is no way you are wriggling out of this one. I have already bought you a ticket for July 10th. Now, here is what you do: you go to SFO. You book a flight, preferably the day before. You fly into Hartford. You drive to Stars Hollow. You meet me at the elementary school, where you _should_ have been a month and a half ago! You see your daughter sing. And then you leave. That's it! No arguments."

"All right, all right! I'll drive to SFO after work."

"Call me when you're there, as you book it! I want to have hard evidence that you have a flight!"

"Lore, I can't believe after over twenty years of knowing each other, you don't trust me?"

Lorelai's silence could be cut with a knife.

"Ouch," Christopher conceded.

Later that day, Christopher called back. "It's done."

"Hold the ticket up by the receiver and wave it. I want to hear the sound of paper flapping, Christopher!"

That very sound came over the airwaves a moment later. "I got it!"

"Good. Thank you. See you on the 10th." She hung up brusquely.

* * *

It was a cozily warm summer's evening in front of Stars Hollow Elementary School. Lorelai waited outside, searching for her guests; she was one of the first ones there. She saw her parents' car pull up along with some of the first patrons for that night's performance.

"Mom! Dad!" she waved to them.

Emily Gilmore was as put together as ever, walking up the school as though she owned it. "Lorelai," she drawled. "So good to see you! I trust we have Reserved seating?"

"Uh... no, Mom, actually, we're not allowed to reserve seats. There's a whole town ordinance about it -"

"Nonsense! I came hear to see my granddaughter sing, and I will not have my view of Rory blocked by some tall... football player with a melon head!"

Richard, who usually hung back and let his wife do the talking, now stepped in. "Emily... I'm sure the stage can be seen no matter where we sit."

"Richard, have you ever even _been_ to the theatre as many times as we have? Half the seats are dirt-cheap and not even worth the time it takes to sit in them! We'd better go in now before the front row is stolen..."

"Wait!" Lorelai cried, ignoring her mother's perplexed look. "There's someone else coming."

"Someone else?" Emily almost gasped, as if the very thought was ghastly. "Who?"

"Christopher."

"Christopher? Well," Emily shrugged briskly. "It would certainly be penance enough for him."

 _Don't remind me_ , Lorelai thought. She now scanned the parking lot for any approaching figures or cars. _Come on, Chris... I swear to God, I'll kill you if you don't show..._

"Lore!" She nearly cried with relief when she saw Christopher running up to them.

"You came," she observed.

"I told you I would, didn't I?"

"We've all heard that before..." Richard mumbled under his breath. Lorelai gave him a look that screamed, _Finish that sentence, and I'll give you something to hear about!_ The Gilmore patriarch stiffly held out his hand. "Christopher."

"Sir." The men shook hands, before the younger man stooped to peck Emily on the cheek.

"Christopher, what on Earth are you wearing?" Emily gawped by ways of greeting, taking in his leather jacket and ripped jeans. "This is a theatrical performance, not a monster truck rally!"

"Philistine..." Richard muttered, still under his breath.

"OK, Mom, it's fine!" Lorelai talked her mother off the ledge. "At least he's here; it doesn't matter what he's wearing!"

"Fine," the Gilmore matriarch sniffed. "Now, let's go!" Emily shooed everyone in as people began to stream into the auditorium. Luckily, the quartet managed to grab some of the last available seats in the front row. Lorelai found herself next to her former... mate. There was an awkward pause between them before Christopher broke the silence.

"So. This is a musical about... singing cats?"

"Very 80s. Weird source material; the writers must have been whacked out on Demerol."

Christopher smiled. "You know, 'whacked out on Demerol' is not a convenient excuse for every decision you believe to be bad."

 _You're one to talk about bad decisions_ , Lorelai thought darkly, but instead bantered back, "It is for me. I was on that shit when I named our little bundle of joy after me."

Christopher smiled, fondly remembering. "I'd call that divine inspiration."

"I'd call that Demerol and an I.V. in my arm."

"Lorelai, hush!" Emily shushed them from Christopher's other side. "And quit talking about Demerol! The lights are dimming!"

The curtain went up, and the show began with kids dressed as cats and singing about something called a Jellicle Cat. _"Because Jellices are, and Jellicles do..."_

Lorelai felt Christopher lean sideways into her. "You're right: whoever wrote this was _so_ on Demerol."

"And that, children, is how the 80s came to be known as the Decade of the Drug Culture," Lorelai whispered back. He laughed.

The musical began to make more... logical sense, somewhat, as it went on. Soon, Rory - as Grizzabella - came out for her big solo. Lorelai knew the song from her daughter's CD. "This is one of the most famous ballads in all of musical theatre!" she whispered to Christopher.

He frowned, obviously still turned off by the show's plot. "It is?"

"You uncultured swine! Get out more often!" Lorelai hissed, just as Rory began to sing.

 _"Memory... all alone in the moonlight... I can smile at the old days... I was beautiful then... I remember the time I knew what happiness was / Let the memory live again..."_ Now she attacked on the incline as she belted: _"Touch me! / It's so easy to leave me!..."_

Lorelai felt almost smug, though perhaps a bit moved as well, when she looked over to see her baby's father crying, the tears streaming down his cheeks as he watched his little girl.

 _"All alone in the memory / Of my days in the sun!... If you touch me, you'll find you know that memory too. Look a new day... has begun!"_

The crowd burst into applause before Rory had even gotten offstage.

* * *

The Gilmores and Christopher waited in the lobby until Rory came out. But when she did, Lorelai was dismayed to see tears running down her cheeks. "Honey, what's the matter?" as she pulled her daughter into a hug.

"I was horrible!"

"You were not! Who said that?" Lorelai fumed, ready to march in there and kick some passive-agressive divas' hineys.

"You were enchanting!" Christopher said with quiet intensity. Rory nearly fell over as she spun around in utter shock.

"Dad?!" Then she let out a squeal as she threw her arms around him. Christopher chuckled and patted her head.

"Your mom called me. Made an offer I couldn't refuse. And I... had to make up for missing your graduation."

Rory wiped at her eyes. "I'm so glad you came. Still..." she wiped at her eyes. "I got stage fright! The rest of the cast had to literally shove me out of the wings!"

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad," Richard assured her.

Rory hugged each of them in turn.

* * *

 **A/N: I personally could see Alexis Bledel doing any of the great roles - Eponine, Sally Bowles, Nina from _In the Heights_. But that's just me. **


	4. Chapter 4: 21 Years Later

**Chapter 4: 21 Years Later**

Late fall, 2016. Rory Gilmore, now in her thirties, drove through the streets of Boston. Checking the piece of paper she had printed out in Stars Hollow, she finally found the house owned by the Haydens. She found her father leaning against the porch column, smiling with ease. He sauntered over as she pulled up.

Rory stepped out. "Hi, Dad," she murmured meekly.

Christopher just stared. "You look beautiful," he finally said softly, and he meant it. It struck him just how much of a young woman she had become; he hadn't seen his daughter in several years.

Father and daughter climbed back into the car, Rory at the wheel. They were just going to go for a drive and chat, out in the countryside beyond the city. Getting to the rural areas went by in silence. Christopher finally spoke:

"So, I heard through the grape vine you're staying with your mom? Have the journalism jobs been hard to find?"

Rory nodded. "Especially now, when our so-called 'President-elect' has been vilifying the media. But even before that, I don't think I've had as much work as I did ever since President Obama's first campaign."

Christopher nodded. "Right out of Yale. I remember. I was so proud of you; told all my colleagues at work!"

Rory side-eyed him, surprised and secretly pleased. "You did?"

"Of course!"

Another lull in the conversation. "How are Sherry and Gigi?"

"Fine. They'll be out all day shopping, to give us some space." Another silence. "Tough crowd," Chris observed, half to himself. "Why don't you put on some music?"

Rory smirked, amused, before digging out her iPhone and clipping it to the dash. "You taking requests?"

"Nah, surprise me!" He took note of the phone. "Latest edition?"

"Nope. This is a number 5, I think. Old, but reliable."

A sudden thought struck Christopher. "You wouldn't happen to still have that Walkman I gave you when you were 11, do you? It's OK if you don't; the thing's obsolete now..."

"I do, actually! Just buried in one of my boxes of stuff at Mom's."

The first song came on - a rap beat. But not just any rap beat:

 _"Why do you assume you're the smartest in the room? / Why do you assume you're the smartest in the room? / Why do you assume you're the smartest in the room? / Son, that attitude may be your doom..."_

"Whoa, whoa!" Christopher protested. "Switch to something else! Seriously - that the hippest you have? What about other rappers?"

Rory gave her father a deadpan expression. "Daddy: the only rapper I listen to is Lin-Manuel Miranda." She laughed as Christopher began to dig through her playlist, obviously not believing her. "You won't find anything else. It's all Broadway. No Aerosmith, no Bieber and definitely no Lil Yachty!"

"Lil Yachty? Why does that sound like some kind of board game?"

"I said Yachty; not _Yahtzee_!" Rory shrugged, secretly impressed by her own rapier wit. "I am very geeky in my musical tastes."

Chris smiled as he continued to flip through her songs. "I wouldn't say that, princess. Maroon 5... Rascal Flatts... OK, I'm sorry, but Phil Collins is sooooooo old school! He was me and your mom's generation!"

Rory gasped in faux outrage. "You watched _Tarzan_ with me when I was 15, and you liked it! Take that back!"

"No. He went to seed after he left Genesis!"

"Says the person who used to argue with Mom over who was better: The Offspring or Metallica. Really?"

"Rory, it was a different time..."

"Heck yeah, 'It was a different time'! Those groups are so old, I don't even know who they are! Oh, but Phil Collins is the one who's supposedly 'old school'?" A brief pause and then Rory let out a sudden bark of laughter.

"What?" Christopher frowned.

"I knew it! I knew I got my musical inclinations from you."

"Did not!"

"Did too. I seem to recall Mom telling me you played a mean guitar back in your day..."

Christopher chuckled. "Well, that's when your old man was in his bad boy phase - did she mention that? Your grandparents were being very stifling in what she and I could do for fun. One time, they dragged us to the theatre."

Rory raised an eyebrow, her interest yet again piqued. "Was it a musical?"

"It was a play that had songs _in_ it. That much I know..."

"Then it's a musical..."

"I seem to remember everyone was holding hands and singing about Nazis in some trippy Kumbaya moment..."

Rory gasped. " _Cabaret_!"

"Yeah, that."

Having run out of things to say, the car grew silent once more. Rory took a deep breath. She had to tell him. Had to tell him now! Do it quick - like a Band-Aid...

"Daddy?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't know if you've talked with Mom in the last few weeks or so, but..."

"But what, sweetpea..."

She turned to him, tears in her eyes. "I'm pregnant." Christopher only stared at her, eyes wide. "Say something!"

"Pull over." The request threw the youngest Gilmore lady, and for a second, she feared that her father would storm off in a rage if she did get off the highway. But his request had not come out in an angry way; in fact, he almost had sounded ill...

As soon as the wheels slid up onto the grass, Christopher half-stumbled out of the car. Rory watched in horror, as he began to dry-heave before finally throwing up. "Daddy? Daddy!"

The throwing up diminished into mere hacking coughs; Rory knelt in the grass and placed a hand on her Dad's shoulder. He finally found enough voice with which to speak:

"I'm sorry. It's just... I flashed back to when your mom told me she was carrying you and I panicked. I... Rory, this isn't what I wanted for you. I've failed you!"

 _Yes, you did_ , Rory almost spoke aloud, but dared not to at the last minute. His presence in her life had been sporadic at best, full of broken promises that then had to be mended with almost forced attendance to certain events; her graduations from both Chilton and Yale being the two best examples. She began to cry.

"No, I failed myself."

"The... father... will he be there?"

"I don't think so," Rory almost whispered, deciding to keep the details of Logan's engagement close to her chest.

That answer was not the one Christopher wanted to hear. He groaned and buried his head in his hands. "It's... it's happening again!"

Rory now burst into full-on tears. "I'm sorry, Daddy! I didn't... I... I'm scared!"

Seeing his daughter in distress, Christopher steeled himself. Maybe he hadn't always been there for Rory when she needed him most, but this right here was a golden opportunity for him to do so. "All right, listen to me: let's get in the car. Turn around; I'll drive."

They drove back to Christopher's place in silence. When he ushered Rory in, the house lay empty.

"Good, Sherry and Gigi aren't home yet." Christopher threw his keys into a catch-all in the foyer and led Rory to what looked like a dining room. The young journalist was shocked to find a grand piano leaning against one wall, which Christopher now opened and sat down at.

"Moments like these - you need to let some emotions out. Sing."

Rory stared at her father. "Sing what? What are you going to play?"

He just looked at her. "You know the song. Just let it out." And suddenly, he began to play very familiar chords - chords that Rory had heard falling asleep in her childhood. She jumped in tentatively:

 _"On my own, pretending he's beside me / All alone, I walk with him till morning. / Without him, I feel his arms around me. / And when I lose my way, I close my eyes... and he has found me... / And I know it's only in my mind, that I'm taking to myself, and not to him / And although I know that he is blind. / Still I say, there's a way for us. / I love him, but when the night is over / He is gone. The river's just a river... / I love him, but every day I'm learning / All my life, I've only been pretending! / Without me, his world will go on turning... / I love him, but only on my own."_

Christopher played along expertly, even softly joining in with his daughter at some moments. By the time the song ended, Rory was actually crying again. Only this time, a laugh popped up through her tears.

"You liar! Jury has reached a verdict, Your Honor - this man _did_ pass his music genes down to me!"

Christopher slouched on the piano bench, raising his hands off the keys. He smiled almost sheepishly. "I actually took your mom to this show when we first started dating. I thought I could woo her that much faster with the drama and tragedy."

Rory just shook her head and smiled. "And obviously it _must_ have worked, for here I am!"

Her father laughed. "Point taken." A pause and then he admitted. "You know, I wish you hadn't given up theatre when you were 11."

Rory shrugged. "Well, I'm writing a book now. Maybe it'll kick start some job offers at news outlets."

Christopher grinned. "I'd love to read it." He stood and gave her a hug. "Lorelai Leigh Gilmore... this new situation of yours won't be easy. Take it from someone who knows. I may not have always been there for you back then, but I promise you I will be here for you now. So will your mom and Luke. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

Christopher blinked and stared at her. "Since when have you called me, 'Sir'?"

"Since when have _you_ called me by my full name?"

"Touché." The father walked his daughter to her car. "Text me when you're at your mom's safely." He turned to go.

"Dad!"

He turned back.

Rory smiled. "Thanks. A lot. You really know how to make a girl feel better."

Christopher shrugged. "You're _my_ girl. And I do my best to take care of my girls. Sherry, Gigi, you... your mom."

And he watched from the porch as Rory's car disappeared into the night. Maybe, in getting to be a grandfather before his time, he could be the father Rory had always wanted him to be...

* * *

 **A/N: This - or at least something close to it - is how I imagine Rory telling Christopher about her pregnancy after the Revival's end.**


End file.
